Sitges

Cosmopolitan, artsy and internationally renowned for its film festival and carnival, the Spanish city of Sitges’ upbeat and trendy atmosphere has made it a magnet for tech-savvy beautiful people.

No surprise then that it’s become a hot location for NFC watchers. Number one Spanish telecoms operator Telefónica is involved in a pre-commercial SIM-based NFC trial in Sitges, about 35KM southwest of Barcelona. Through its Movistar brand the telecoms giant is partnering with companies such as Samsung Electronics, which is supplying its S5230 NFC phones. Other partners in the scheme include Spain’s largest savings bank, La Caixa, which is acting as both the issuer and the merchant acquirer for the trial; NXP, which is providing the NFC chips; Gemalto, which is supplying the SIM cards; Ingenico, which is providing the terminals; Visa, which is providing the payWave application; and Sitges City Council.

Customers can use the phones to make debit and credit card payments in taxis and sports centers and at market stalls and retail stores. They can pay for items up to a value of 20 euros without a PIN and make larger transactions by entering their it.

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6 Comments on “Sitges”

I believe the 500 merchant sites aquired are out of a total of potential 800 sites….. so in effect in this community will have more than 50% of merchants enabled to take payment with the phones in place. Here we will have a community where NFC spending really could become the payment method of choice.

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[…] docu we are currently filming in Sitges (if you want to find out more, check out the league link here). There is NFC at the butcher, baker and at the bars. Glorious weather and super relaxed retailers […]